The Art of Ping Pong, FiveFootSix, decision time

Having created my design for the group decision deadline, I laid out my work for the tutor and second year students to choose the four finalists to be given a paddle to design on. These sketch few would be then given a paddle in which to design onto, and send the paddles back to FiveFootSix who would then choose the one paddle to be displayed in the auction. I laid out my template designs in which I had three lip variations, three portraits a pattern design and a hair drawing. I also laid out my initial designs of the lips on A3 paper for colour choice. WAITING!!

I along with three other students were chosen to design onto a paddle, that very same day I  was handed my paddle and had five days to finish the design by!

The art of Ping Pong, FiveFootSix

PING PONG!! I undertook a competition for the company Five Foot Six in which I had to create a cover and back design to go on a ping pong paddle as part of the annual charity fun raiser. I could design anything I wanted to and so I began initial sketches with drawing fluid forms on the paddle templates we were given. I then had the idea of using the paddle as a theatrical prop around the face where the first idea was to have  two portraits in different expressions on each side. I then developed this idea into simply focusing on a set of lips and began sketching and souring imagery of female lips specifically as I found them visually appealing.

Biting the lip variation idea

sketchbook ideas for the paddle design

Lollipop design idea

collective lip drawings i made in three separate poses

Idea for a ping pong in the mouth

Sara’s Talk

THE VISUAL RESEARCH SIDE! Sara’s talk was focused completely on how to visually research and why, for whom and how do I document my work. I understand that research is systematic and designing is systematic, ideas and final pieces do not appear at the snap of a finger. All design begins with a crude sketch and goes through endless refining and development before it is finally resolved. Sara’s tip was to make my thinking visual as soon as possible, to retain every detail or thought and explained that by having a sketch in front of me I would be able develop and understand what I am thinking. Also to help me look at the facts. To document I must Film, draw, and photograph and then reflect upon this afterwards. I must accumulate images and things relevant to my work but learn how to edit and get rid of the useless. I am essentially documenting a creative process and therefor I am spending a lot of energy and time on this process and should document as much as I can to show my thorough engagement. The visual research I am accumulating is for myself, although as well for my peers and tutors, it is also deeply personal to me as a designer. It will aid me in going through my ideas processes and methods. The blog is also essentially for potential employers to see how i work and create and what my intellectual capital is.

Ricardo’s Talk

Ricardo’s Talk was my first lecture specific to the requirements of the blog and what programme we would be using. This talk was about what exactly was expected in the blog itself. I am to document, record, investigate, interrogate and analyse my work, my workshops, visits to other studios and trips and in general, to fully engage and create a running commentary of my entire final year. I will also include personal work of things that I have made, created, found interesting or relevant to my projects. I am to photograph myself making as to show the process and my engagement with my work which I have been doing during my course but I want to do this more. I also learned about amplifying detail of my work, with close up photography to post on my blog, showing the relevant parts of my work such as photographing a book or an object I’ve made.

The talk needed with the emphasis on images and capturing high quality images of my work. To create a massive narrative to accompany my sketchbooks and work as a whole.

Mathew’s Talk

Mathews talk focused on the use of vinyl and music as an example to demonstrate titling and headings within a blog to ‘contain the noise’. Using the vinyl on a presentation with no text just solely images, I understood how the narration around an image I upload I will have to be included as to create a sound dialog between myself and the work.  The narration and commentary also communicates my constant interaction with the blog and my work swell as showing my engaging with the learning outcomes. The use of Vinyl is obviously a great passion of Mathews which was evident in the in-depth analysis he iterated as he presented, and i want to apply this through my blog because if I’m not into what I’m blogging to posting, it’ll be pretty damn obvious!

Adrian’s Talk

FRESH TO IMPRESS! As part of my final year workI will be entering the Smint competition in which I will design a poster promoting the brand. Smint’s ethos surrounding their product is that they communicate on a personal one to one level and work to create a relationship between themselves and the audience and creating a poster I must also communicate in this way. Focusing on not talking at the audience but having a conversation with them, which suggests a back and forth between the audience and the poster. So the audience will consciously supply something to the poster working as a whole, well thats my thoughts anyway. Confident. Inspiring. Sophisticated. Assured. Encouraging. Premium, these are all the qualities Smint associate with their product and which I will have to incorporate into my poster piece. The poster will be portrait and will be displayed in bus stop billboards around the city of London.